What Pi Sounds Like

I've always loved generative music, and this guy used Pi as the basis for his composition. I'm not saying it's as good as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber or something, but it's a great way to get ready for Pi day which is tragically still not a federal holiday. Write your congressman.

Comments

And thank god for that

[kryptKnight]

I'm not saying it's as good as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber or something

And thank god for that...

Re:And thank god for that

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine the love child.

Re:And thank god for that

[Locke2005]

That would require that one of the two be male. Looking at the two of them, I'd say it's more likely to be Gaga.

Re:And thank god for that

[Sardak]

No kidding. The song in the video is actually quite pleasant to listen to. I don't think "good" means what the summary writer thinks it means.

Re:And thank god for that

[XxtraLarGe]

He wasn't giving it enough credit. It was much better than Lady Gaga AND Justin Bieber.

Re:And thank god for that

[DamienRBlack]

If your above statements are a sample of your usual tone in arguments, then I'm sorry to say that people aren't using a "race card" when they are taking to you, nor are they being "smug assholes", you actually are a racist. The fact that you went on this tangent on an article about pi is a hint. I'm not really sure what you should do about it, perhaps you should consider actually looking into the data surrounding race relations. It might at least take some of the edge off of your vitriol.

Re:And thank god for that

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, it's much better.

Re:And thank god for that

[gordo3000]

that isn't something any composer should consider their high hurdle for artistic success.

Re:And thank god for that

[Beelzebud]

I have a feeling you're just a racist douchebag.

Re:And thank god for that

[Anonymous Coward]

Since Pi is an irrational number, it should sound rather gaga...

Re:And thank god for that

[RoFLKOPTr]

That would require that one of the two be male. Looking at the two of them, I'd say it's more likely to be Gaga.

I submit that the unmet requirement is that one be female. Believe it or not, Justin Bieber is male (I know, I forget that sometimes, too), and there is ample internet evidence that Lady Gaga has a penis.

Re:And thank god for that

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't feed the klansmen. They've got rationalizations and misinterpreted data to feed their idiocy, just like any other group of racists. You're more likely to get a young earth creationist to understand how stupid their ideas are by suggesting they actually crack open a real science book.

Re:And thank god for that

[Bozzio]

Warning. Shameless plug.

If you're into generated music, then you'll probably like auto-composed tone-matrix music. I just happen to have written a game that does that :)

Do you know John Conway's Game of Life? It's a cellular automata game. I've combined that with a standard tone-matrix interface to create music that essentially breeds new generations of itself.

And, just to make sure that pseudo-chaotic music actually sounds good, I framed everything in a pentatonic scale.

If you're interested, check out Harmonium on Xbox 360 Live Indie Games.

Re:And thank god for that

[DamienRBlack]

The statistics are true, the conclusions are not. You have to look into the other side of the issue. For example, a black person is twice as likely to fail a polygraph than a white person when both are telling the truth. A black person is three times more likely to get jail time than a white person when at court for the same crime, dressed in the same clothes, with the same number and type of priors. A car of white teenagers are twice as likely of having some form of illegal drugs in the car, but a car of black teenagers are six times more likely to get pulled over, and once pulled over, twice as likely to get searched. 28% of white kids binge drink, as opposed to 8% of black youth. 43% of white teenagers have used drugs, but only 37% of Black teenagers have.

When you dig into it, it becomes obvious that the over representation of blacks in prison is do to a large degree from bias prevalent in our justice system, discriminating blacks and other minorities every step of the way. Yes, in some areas there is an anti-system sentiment among some blacks, but if the above inequalities were being aimed at you, wouldn't you also be weary of the system?

Re:And thank god for that

[Anonymous Coward]

The correct link is:
Harmonium

Re:And thank god for that

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't have to thank me.

Re:And thank god for that

[DamienRBlack]

Indeed, that is a good question. What can be done? It does seem that politicians do thrive off of divisions not unity. From a political standpoint, I think voting reform would go a long way to help. Instant Runoff Voting, where voters can vote for a whole list a candidates in a preferred order, seems like it would take a lot of the partisanship bite out of politics. This way we wouldn't have to narrow down the choices between candidate A and B and watch them wrestle to the death. Instead could vote for a wide variety of candidates that aren't all trying to split the country in equal halves. Third parties could run without people worrying about leaching votes from the "big" parties that will "inevitably" win. Negative campaigning would have limited effect, because instead of having only one viable opponent, you might have dozens. Instant Runoff and Single Transferable Vote were tried in many states during the 60s and 70s, but people became nervous that so many third parties and minorities were getting elected and the attempt at voting reform was almost universally repealed out of fear. This won't solve all the problems, but at the political level, I think it is a step in the right direction. End the partisan division by giving people more options.

It is only one tiny fix, and the problem is just to big to address quickly or easily. But perhaps it can move things in the right direction. Best thing I've seen sugested, and even though it is wholly inadequate, at least it is something to work towards.

Re:And thank god for that

[Gibbs-Duhem]

And here is another example of transcendental numbers in music. This one was created in the early 1970's by Conlon Nancarrow, a composer who essentially created a parallel form of "electronic music" by using heavily modified player pianos instead of electronics. He was born just a little bit too early, but the concepts are extremely similar to what people do in sequencing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXFiq19-KSE

This one is designed to have two melodies, one in which each measure takes pi inches of player piano roll and the other which takes e inches of player piano roll. The result is two melodies which will never align after the very beginning, using a true e/pi relationship.

Re:And thank god for that

[khallow]

You might have missed this, but for distinguishing characteristics, lack of hygiene doesn't go as far as you think it should.

Re:And thank god for that

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you.
now THAT'S MUSIC.
(scuse me for shouting)

Re:And thank god for that

[RareButSeriousSideEf]

It ought to be... isn't the melody ©, beginning of time, whoever wrote the laws of physics and invented numbers?

Re:And thank god for that

[ockegheim]

Yes, it doesn’t sound bad, and it only uses 31 digits of pi when so many more are available. That would suggest the piece has had more rational (ie. composer’s) input than irrational.

Re:And thank god for that

[ockegheim]

His player piano piece remind me of a piece I wrote for Disklavier in the 90s. I didn't have access to a Disklavier, so I went to a piano shop with a laptop (with midi output) and a recorder, and asked if I could record my piece. The shopkeeper was fine with that, so I hooked it up and got my piece going. The climax was crazy, and blew a fuse, so I had to make a trip to the (fortunately close) electronics store, and record the climax in five separate passes. I wrote a piece for Disklavier because I’m not a good pianist, and any attempts at keyboard writing beyond basic and easy tend to be (nearly) unplayable.

Re:And thank god for that

[Locke2005]

White people should go back to where they came from (Europe). It was a mistake to let them move here from there own lands, where they continue to act like assholes.

By the way, EVERYBODY is originally from Africa. Whites moved out of Africa earlier, and interbred with Neanderthals.

Re:And thank god for that

[Anonymous Coward]

A waveform composed entirely of random values would sound better than lady gaga or justin beiber.

Re:And thank god for that

[Coren22]

Wow, you read that article about dealing with trolls too huh?

Perhaps you have converted the "Black" troll to the side of good with your effort of talking about the issues.

Hard n Phirm - Pi

[tepples]

I always thought Pi sounded more like this. But then I used to be on YTMND.

Re:Hard n Phirm - Pi

[Anne_Nonymous]

That would be irrational; pi is always sung in a round.

Re:Hard n Phirm - Pi

[Anonymous Coward]

You are correct, sir. Also known as "my cellphone's ringtone."

Any random numbers would produce the same result

[Anonymous Coward]

Any random notes from a clearly defined scale (e.g. C major) paired with triadic chords from the same scale will sound vaguely pleasant.
Thus, this is not "what PI" sounds like as much as it's what C major sounds like.

Base 7

[immakiku]

Why not base 7 representation of Pi?

Re:Base 7

[Idbar]

and why not hex using two octaves?

Re:Base 7

[igny]

Why didn't they try to play pi in reverse? I tell you, its beginning is beautiful.

Re:Base 7

[s0litaire]

If they play it backwards doesn’t it summon "Evangelical Christian believers in Fact-free science"...

Re:Base 7

[geekoid]

yes, but you need to start at the end.

Re:Base 7

[snsh]

pi is the same backwards and forwards.

especially true for pi base pi.

Re:Base 7

[FrootLoops]

I like base 16 in light of the BBP formula. The formula gives base 16 digits of pi, without computing the previous digits.

Re:Base 7

[Sulphur]

I like base 16 in light of the BBP formula. The formula gives base 16 digits of pi, without computing the previous digits.

And leading to spigot music.

Re:Base 7

[Anonymous Coward]

Pi is an irrational number so we dont know the end it goes on forever you moran.

Re:Base 7

[Anonymous Coward]

woosh?

Re:Base 7

[Coren22]

But 3 is still 3 when played backwards...

no rhythm involved at all

[Anonymous Coward]

What he's playing is just a steady stream of quarter notes that get overlaid with straight eighth and sixteenth notes later on. There's absolutely nothing interesting happening from a rhythmic perspective at all. No syncopation, no rests, nothing. Just bars full of quarters, eighths, and sixteenths. Disappointing. You could do a whole lot with pi rhythmically, too.

Re:no rhythm involved at all

[Anonymous Cowar]

What he's playing is just a steady stream of quarter notes that get overlaid with straight eighth and sixteenth notes later on. There's absolutely nothing interesting happening from a rhythmic perspective at all. No syncopation, no rests, nothing. Just bars full of quarters, eighths, and sixteenths. Disappointing. You could do a whole lot with pi rhythmically, too.

So do it

Pi is wrong.

[pipatron]

Stop being silly. Perhaps after reading this, you will understand why it's simply retarded to even mention pi: http://tauday.com/

Re:Pi is wrong.

[owlstead]

I propose twoday today where we write down that specific constant as 2Pi.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[Charliemopps]

I read that for like 10min before I realized I don't care.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[517714]

It's not retarded, it's irrational.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[sirrunsalot]

The electron is never going to have a positive charge, and pi is never going to equal 1/2*tau. What a silly thing to worry about.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[black3d]

I'm sure it's all accurate and such, but skimming down the page, I couldn't help but be reminded of TimeCube!

Re:Pi is wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

So, you've just magnified pi by a constant multiplier. Who cares, and how does that make mentioning pi retarded?

Re:Pi is wrong.

[game kid]

cool number bro

(Yeah, going by C/r and 2*pi is nice and probably the better way but meh.)

Re:Pi is wrong.

[Samantha Wright]

Consider that you're probably not the kind of person who cares about pi anyway, and then realise you're not even the target audience.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[konohitowa]

That was funny. I was initially concerned that it was meant to be serious.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

I propose twoday today where we write down that specific constant as 2Pi.

or we can call it pipi

Re:Pi is wrong.

[Sulphur]

I propose twoday today where we write down that specific constant as 2Pi.

or we can call it pipi

Goes good with longstockings.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh wow, i never knew there was a whole movement of sorts dedicated to this.

I remember when learning some maths and physics, reading through loads of equations, then one day coming to this, "Why are they always writing down 2Pi everywhere, why don't they just make a damn symbol for it since it is so widely used?"

Also, this will hurt a lot of heads when people notice Tau, one leg, is equal to 2Pi, 2 legs.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[TangoMargarine]

TL;DR. Please summarize and explain why we should care.

Re:Pi is wrong.

[pipatron]

Summary: Everywhere[1] you actually have to work with pi, you always need a factor of 2. Pi is only half the circle because the circumference is divided with the diameter instead of the radius as it should have been. Using 6.28... as the circle constant would simplify and tidy up all formulas and help students understanding the concepts.

[1] Except for the area of a circle, where the '2' is actually omitted by pure luck.

I suggest a complete compilation.

[Anonymous Coward]

Of the long numbers, not just the irrational ones. That way you could include say, Avogadro's.

Re:I suggest a complete compilation.

[jbeaupre]

The Avogadro piece would only be 24 notes. Or did I just explain the joke? Doh!

Date of Pi Public Holiday

[duracelllll]

Perhaps March 14 should be given the public holiday for Pi.

Re:Date of Pi Public Holiday

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps March 14 should be given the public holiday for Pi.

And at 15:00 we could have 92 seconds of silence.

Re:Date of Pi Public Holiday

[robot256]

I was gonna say, there should be some big celebration on Pi day 2016, but then remembered nobody else writes their dates that way...

Re:Date of Pi Public Holiday

[EdIII]

Given the state of education and the sophistication of the unwashed masses as whole, I would say the only result would be vastly increased sales for CoCo's and Marie Calender restaurants.

Re:Date of Pi Public Holiday

[david duncan scott]

But in Europe, July 22 would work better.

Re:Date of Pi Public Holiday

[Chapter80]

That was my thought too! Pi Day isn't until 2016! (3/14/16) Or maybe that's the 2000th anniversary of Pi Day.

Of course 3/14/1593 was a good day also. And 3/1/416.

Re:Date of Pi Public Holiday

[Hognoxious]

s/in Europe/everywhere else in the world other than the US/

Re:Date of Pi Public Holiday

[Coren22]

22/6/2011 !?

What about Mole Day?

[Psychotic_Wrath]

Well if we are gonna be writing our congressman about adding Pi day as a holiday we should definitely write about Mole day! 10-23

Re:What about Mole Day?

[Monchanger]

Not a bad idea for a day but I'd suggest we're probably best off by agreeing on advocating just one day of constant celebration and focus our energy on that one, and I think Pi day is more likely to happen.

Why Pi? It's simpler to grasp as a mathematical concept (remember- we're talking about lawyers here...), and it's taught at a rather early grade in geometry so we can use it to advance math and science education.

Re:What about Mole Day?

[sirrunsalot]

And e day, the 71st of February!

Re:What about Mole Day?

[gstrickler]

No, it's 27-1, i.e. January 27th.

Pi in the round?

[gstrickler]

Ok, it's actually pi rounded to 31 decimals, played in the round.

Re:Pi in the round?

[Luyseyal]

in the round

As it should be!
-l

It's better

[Anonymous Coward]

than Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber. His arrangement is musically more interesting and artistic, and it exhibits much more originality and creative thought. And it plain sounds better.

Re:It's better

[Anonymous Coward]

You're so original! Thanks for being the 30th person trying to sound above it all to post this same sentiment.

It doesn't exhibit more originality and creative thought - they took the digits of pi, and said "each digit = a specific note," and then they proceeded to play those notes.

What, exactly, is creative about playing a random sequence of quarter notes in one octave with no variation in rhythm, volume, or duration?

I don't particularly like Lady Gaga, but I'll take this over "pi on a keyboard" any fucking day. At least with Lady Gaga, maybe you can spend a couple minutes dancing with a woman. With Pi, you're pretty much guaranteed to be dancing with yourself, and that just leaves you alone in the dark with Cheetos-stained fingers.

...really..

[Nocturnal Deviant]

I'm not saying it's as good as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber or something

And I am not saying this is news...when did slashdot become blogger...

If you like this then

[Anonymous Coward]

The Microsound mailing list has had an (almost) annual project based on:
this project is dedicated to the transcendental number pi
using pi, .microsound list members composed pieces that use the number/concept in some direct way. Also, pieces needed to be exactly 3:14 min, and use pi as a formula for their title.
These are the results, released 3.14 (Pi Day)

You can listen to the submitions at: www.microsound.org/projects/

I prefer this Pi

[theillien]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMJwkl4B4Ao

I'd say base-12 makes more sense.

[whovian]

"The twelve-tone equal-tempered scale is the smallest equal-tempered scale that contains all seven of the basic consonant intervals to a good approximation — within one percent."

http://thinkzone.wlonk.com/Music/12Tone.htm

Convert pi to base 12:

PI in base_12 = 3.184809493b9186459aaa3a83 (approximation)

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread352234/pg

Now play 3.184809493b9186459aaa3a83.... as keyboard notes.

WRONG!

[Nyall]

PI sounds exactly like 3.

Also, if I kick up the bass can I make is sound like e?

Resetti

[tepples]

I thought mole day was February 2. No wait, that's Hedgehog Day.

Write your congressman

[Anonymous Coward]

OK, I will.

"Your congressman".

What did that achieve?

I think you meant "write to your congressman".

Re:Write your congressman

[Anonymous Coward]

I think they know how to use an indirect object in English; apparently you don't. Now bugger off.

South Australia

[Anonymous Coward]

In South Australia, this is a public holiday! Though those not in the know call it Adelaide Cup Day or some non-sense.

Alas, this prevents me taking square pies to work that day.

Re:South Australia

[jrumney]

In South Australia, "this" would be 31 April? I'm sure that would be employers' favourite public holiday.

Standards

[__aazsst3756]

If our music standard is Bieber and Gaga, were in a serious world of hurt.

"The most impressive way to not get laid."

[Anonymous Coward]

Is what the comment made by the Collegehumor poster. I think it needs to be repeated.

collegehumor scoops slashdot?

[MichaelKristopeit400]

slashdot = stagnated

Month/Day

[Toam]

Pi Day bothers me because it uses the American date format which I really don't like.

DD MM YYYY makes more sense than MM DD YYYY.

Personally I prefer YYYY MM DD because then dates are ordered correctly :D

Re:Month/Day

[Nyall]

What day would that come out to be for an annual event?

The 3rd day of the 14th month?
Maybe the 31st day of the 4th month?

Re:Month/Day

[angus77]

YYYY MM DD is the way that dates are written in the Far East. I don't write my dates in any other format unless forced to these days.

Re:Month/Day

[gstrickler]

MM/DD makes sense, and is probably the origin of MM/DD/YY (which does not make sense otherwise). Unfortunately, all of the formats that do make sense are tougher to interpret at pi day, etc.

However, unless I'm filling in a form that expects mm/dd/yy(yy), I use yyyy-mm-dd (or for some international usage dd-mon-yyyy) so there is no confusion.

Re:Month/Day

[jrumney]

I'm sure nobody will mind you celebrating pi day on 31 April instead. You can even take the day off work, on full pay, without asking your boss if you like.

Re:Month/Day

[Anonymous Coward]

It's called ISO8601: simple, logical, descending order of magnitude.

Since it's an international standard and It Just Makes Sense(tm), it's reasonable to expect that the US won't be using it any time soon.

Re:Month/Day

[bigstrat2003]

DD MM YYYY makes more sense than MM DD YYYY.

Arbitrary representational system is arbitrary.

Re:Month/Day

[gstrickler]

The ISO has a standard for just about everything.

Re:Month/Day

[slim]

Some representation systems are more arbitrary than others; if you can memorise a system by rationalising it, it's clearly less arbitrary.

For example, you could settle on a postal address scheme that goes person -> number -> street -> town -> county -> country; it's an arbitrary choice to start with the smallest unit, but it makes sense. Starting the other end makes equal sense: country -> county -> town -> street -> number -> person.

It would be more arbitrary to shuffle one of the end values into the middle: number -> street -> person -> town -> county -> country ... which is what the American MMDDYY system does.

Still, it does mean we get to do the "this is our 9/11" joke on the 9th November every year.

I acknowledge that postal addresses are necessarily more complicated than what I've given, and also acknowledge my regional bias in using British meanings of words like "town" and "county".

As good as Justin Bieber? Really?

[Clsid]

As good as Justin Bieber? Good god, the kid is a product of the music industry which is pushing it in very obnoxious ways.

Re:As good as Justin Bieber? Really?

[geekoid]

S0 where the beetles, the sex pistols, nirvana and many other 'original' bands

Re:As good as Justin Bieber? Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'm not saying it's as good as Justin Bieber, but..."
"I'm not saying it's as good as being stabbed in the eye with a fork, but..."
"I'm not saying it's as good as having your testicles crushed in a vice, but..."
"I'm not saying it's as good as listening to someone "sing" who's been auto-tuned, but..."

Re:As good as Justin Bieber? Really?

[Rhywden]

I never had to push my beetle! The engine always started up, even in the deepest of winters!

Re:As good as Justin Bieber? Really?

[Zorque]

I'm sure the author was being entirely serious.

Re:As good as Justin Bieber? Really?

[game kid]

The engine always started up

Did it ever stop?

Re:As good as Justin Bieber? Really?

[Clsid]

Are you seriously comparing the Beatles and Nirvana with Justin Bieber?

Kate Bush

[Anonymous Coward]

Kate Bush has a decent song on the subject. She sings some of the digits.

Write your congressman?

[cdibbs]

... maybe not such a hot idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill

What's with all of the interest in pi?

[i_liek_turtles]

e is the cooler number, by far.

Re:What's with all of the interest in pi?

[Clueless Moron]

pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.

e is the number such that the value of the derivative of the function f(x) = e^x at the point x = 0 is equal to 1.

Now which number do you think has the better marketing plan?

Re:What's with all of the interest in pi?

[arielCo]

Actually the fiery marriage of both (or the wild orgy of five fundamental constants and three operations) rocks like out of Hell :)

Re:What's with all of the interest in pi?

[i_liek_turtles]

e's applications are much more interesting, but I guess pi has the better marketing plan merely because everyone's heard about pi in high school.

Re:What's with all of the interest in pi?

[gstrickler]

And e is much easier to remember to 9 decimal places.

Re:What's with all of the interest in pi?

[Tyler Durden]

e dollars is the amount of money you have after $1 undergoes continuous compound interest for one year with an annual interest rate of 100%.

From the above you find that e = Lim (1 + 1/n)^n where n approaches infinity.

e pops up in the class of formulas used to represent the shape a chain takes from the force of gravity when supported on its ends. (The Catenary).

The derivative of Ce^x (where C is a constant) is itself. The only class of functions with that property.

The number r*e^(ix) is the polar form of a complex number on the complex plane where r is the distance from the origin and x is the angle involved. This one just boggles my mind.

So, yeah, I guess it is hard to market. But it is far far cooler than people give it credit.

Beats at least one

[Patrick May]

It's definitely better than Justin Bieber.

Re:Beats at least one

[geekoid]

SO how much Justin Bieber have you listened to?

Re:Beats at least one

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the answer to that question is always "too much", even if all you have heard is his name.

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[hweimer]

Any random notes from a clearly defined scale (e.g. C major) paired with triadic chords from the same scale will sound vaguely pleasant. Thus, this is not "what PI" sounds like as much as it's what C major sounds like.

In a similar spirit, I once wrote musical representations of quantum algorithms. I played around with various scales, and it turned out that the best sounding scale actually depended on the algorithm. But then of course the underlying data was not nearly as random as pi.

Definitely better than mainstream hacks

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not saying it's as good as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber or something...

You're right, it's WAY more creative and definitely sounds better.

Gaga Google

[Anonymous Coward]

{Amplitude=RND(N), Frequency=RND(N+3)}[N=1 to 10^100] is better than Lady Gaga.

piaku

[KalvinB]

I like pi.
Yeah
It's pretty cool

Re:piaku

[sirrunsalot]

I hate to tell you,
but haiku have a fixed form:
five, seven, and five.

Re:piaku

[Barefoot Monkey]

I hate to tell you, but haiku have a fixed form: five, seven, and five.

It's piaku,
so:
three, one, and four

Re:piaku

[sirrunsalot]

Whoosh!

Re:piaku

[Barefoot Monkey]

You seem confused. OP was never intending to make a haiku. Piaku has no relation to haiku other than the shoutout in the name, so claiming that it isn't in haiku form is missing the point. Incidentally, your response is not in haiku form either; you have too many moras in your second line.

tragically still not a federal holiday.

[rossdee]

Who benefits from Federal holidays apart from Federal and maybe state employees?

The rest of us don't get a day off.

And Federal Holidays tend to be Mondayized anyway, to make it a long weekend. 3/14 may fall on a monday this year, but most of the time they wiuldn't have it observed on the right date.

Matematically challenged.

[SETIGuy]

There are any number of mathematical problems with his composition that an extremely picky person could point out.

1. Since there are 8 notes in an octave, maybe he should have used a base 8 representation of PI rather than a base 10 representation

2. Notes in a scale are logarithmically spaced, so maybe he should have used log(PI) represented in base 8.

3. A full octave is a factor of 2 in frequency, so maybe he should have used log_2(PI) represented in base 8.

4. The entire composition could be simplified to one note by using base PI

5. No notes would be necessary at all if the composition were specified as log_PI(PI)-1. Some people just can't learn to simplify their work

Re:Matematically challenged.

[Twinbee]

Base 7 over 8 would be more suitable as the diatonic scale has 7 notes. You counted the first one twice (the octave), but they are the same note.

But perhaps we should go the whole hog, and say base 12 to use the full chromatic scale.

Re:Matematically challenged.

[sirrunsalot]

5. No notes would be necessary at all if the composition were specified as log_PI(PI)-1.

Ohmygod. SETI, eh? Intelligent extraterrestrial beings have been sending us the digits of pi this whole time!

Good idea, but too rigid and underdeveloped.

[Kaz Kylheku]

The piece could use modulation, instead of sticking with C major, which renders it rather boring. The PI theme could be interpreted with respect to other modes as well (minor, for starters). More material could be generated by using additional manipulations of the PI theme. The canon idea worked out, as well as playing a parallel voice at a slower multiple of the tempo. That still leaves tricks like inversions and reversals. You could always "mine" PI for more notes, of course. The chosen theme doesn't always have to be completely stated either. Fragments of it can be used, here and there.

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[Kaz Kylheku]

That's kind of like saying that all J. S. Bach themes in C major are the same and you're hearing C major more than Bach. :)

from TFA

[naz404]

From TFA:

The most impressive way to not get laid.

Holy crap, I'm doomed!

I turned "Hello World" into an experimental track by translating the phrase into morse code and using it as a synth buzz beat hook...

Re:from TFA

[RoFLKOPTr]

what's this WHY IS MY FOOT TAPPING OH GOD

Nice beat.

--

Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING. And what the hell is wrong with yelling?

Re:from TFA

[naz404]

Actually, isn't this the definitive sound of Pi? :

Clint Mansell - Pi * r ^ 2 from the soundtrack of Darren Aronofsky's Pi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cq_QO_4Cx4

Clint Mansell has done all of Aronofsky's music from the been-used-everywhere Lux Aeterna of Requiem for a Dream to Black Swan.

Oh, shameless plug, if you guys are into electronic music, here's a ton of free albums from my friends at Electronica Manila:

* QED Records - Free Electronic Music Netlabel
* Electronica Manila: One
* Electronica Manila: FREE
* Basics: The Electronica Manila The General MIDI Project

Enjoy!

-Naz

Re:from TFA

[Canazza]

Rush did that with YYZ didn't they? Although, with the Morse for YYZ, rather than "Hello World"

Re:from TFA

[naz404]

thanks for the reco, first time I've heard Rush. They're cool! Morse code actually makes for pretty cool musical beat patterns I found out with my experiment. It can actually be used as a steganography in joke for hidden messages :)

Re:from TFA

[Daagar]

"first time I've heard Rush" I feel so old now.

Or...

[Anonymous Coward]

You could just cat pi into /dev/audio.

Here is another one - for violin alone...

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whG11u457fo

Approximating Pi

[david duncan scott]

May I recommend the first track of David Stutz's Iolet: The Music of Anathem

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[Twinbee]

I think his point is that you could pick any complicated number (e, sqrt(2), or a completely random number), and get exactly the same kind of emotional response.

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[Anonymous Coward]

that's like saying cat /dev/random is the same is find /usr/src | gzip -

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[pitchpipe]

Another small quibble: there are seven notes in a major scale, the C is a repetition.

Correction: In all states except Indiana

[martin-boundary]

Correction: This is what pi sounds like in all states except Indiana. In Indiana, pi sounds like a flatline...

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[Anonymous Coward]

No it's not. Bach Themes aren't random notes. Honestly are you an idiot? Use your head, figure out why what you said makes shit's worth of sense.

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[Anonymous Coward]

That would be true if Bach's themes were formed from random pitches from that scale - they're not :)

African

[ChucktheMan]

How about 9-note blues? that would let you keep the trad number base, and let you add some cool bass to mix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues_scale

Base 12? it sounds like a chipped propellor

sing along with shaky math?

[Anonymous Coward]

wehehehell, somwhere, dadadada.... that's just about enough of that p(r)iUS slag?

kate bush

[Anonymous Coward]

...no, this is pi...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZSHr5E7fZY

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[Samantha Wright]

You have clearly beaten the pants off this submission. I applaud you, sir.

Re:Any random numbers would produce the same resul

[Rizimar]

Sure, if you ignore the fact that the second instance of C is an octave above the first, which isn't as minor of a detail as you may be inclined to believe.

hmm..

[habys]

I don't trust this guy, there is no major IV.

Re:hmm..

[habys]

doh! I was thinking intervals..

0 as rest

[jordan314]

I taught myself how to sing this to 200 digits in high school, which impressed no one. :) He stops right before the first 0, which I count as a rest when I sing it. I used this as an audition song for an a cappella group in college, and not surprisingly didn't get in. Switching up my repertoire to something less nerdy got me into another group.

Summary stinks

[KingAlanI]

Cool project though this may be, the summary was patently unnecessary - obvious troll (of the anti-mainstream and anti-RIAA types common on Slashdot) is obvious.

Summary stinks

[KingAlanI]

Cool project though this may be, summary seems to be a blatant troll of the anti-mainstream and specifically anti-RIAA attitude common on Slashdot.

Done before

[Anonymous Coward]

3.14 can be found on Yoko Kanno's Cowboy Bebop OST (Future Blues 2001).

Re:Done before

[mpathy]

Also by Kate Bush.. Which is a great song while working :)

So so so wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

First of all, if you spend some serious time with music in the Euro-American tradition, you have to deal with 12 notes -- 0-11, a base 12 number system. (Shout out to Arnold Schoenberg and his boys Anton and Alban.)

Secondly, what's with the insipid rhythm? It's not a stretch to interpret a sequence of numbers as a list of durations.

Another argument --- who's to say you only get one digit for every operation. Convenient, I know, but if you act on pairs of digits in base 12 you can at least cover all 12 notes in a piano's octave.

[ exercise for the diligent: apply some other pattern to a microtonal scale, artificial or traditional ]

Indabible

[Hognoxious]

it's a great way to get ready for Pi day which is tragically still not a federal holiday

In Indiana they have it on the zeroth of March.

Kate Bush

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't believe nobody mentioned "Pi" sung by Kate Bush http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZSHr5E7fZY

Try this

[tqft]

Not me - was just, well it was just
http://slashdot.org/~History's+Coming+To/journal/258158
http://artificialphilosophy.blogspot.com/2010/11/pisbn-project.html

"Almost every single book published since 1966 has an ISBN number. These days they all start 978, then there's another ten digits. The last one's a check digit made by multiplying the others up in a certain way.

So I wrote a program that searches Pi for ISBN numbers. Then it checks them to see if the check digit is a valid one. Then it looks the ISBN up on Google Books.

I got three hits in the first fifty million digits of Pi. It took about ten minutes. Actually, it took about three hours to write the thing properly, another hour debugging it, and a frustrated lie in the bath half way through. And about six cups of tea. Once it actually worked it was fairly quick though.
"

comparing apples with crap

[Anonymous Coward]

Pi sounds definitely better than Lady Caga and Justin Bieber! What a great comparison... your background in music, even pop music, must be nil. Poor guy.

Why lock to a scale?

[slim]

It feels a bit like cheating to generate music from a stream of numbers by consciously coercing them into our preconceived ideas of rhythm and scale.

We're often told that music has a strong mathematical foundation, so why not try to find the music in (say) pi from more fundamental maths.

So rather than think in terms of a C major scale, think in terms of frequencies -- how long do you make the virtual string, and how long do you wait before plucking it again? (extensible to all kinds of virtual instruments, played in ever more sophisticated ways with more variables). These are real numbers.

Of course, it's inevitable that the algorithm will be created by a human, but one could at least strive to recognise where you're just adding a random salt to something that's essentially a human composition.

After all, I could take the first 10 bars of Fur Elise, number them 1-10, then play them back in the order 3,1,4,1,5,9,2,6,5,... and claim "this is what pi sounds like"; but really it would be "almost what Beethoven sounds like".

Pi Hair

[Montrey]

Pi needs to sue Justin Beiber, it is obvious that the Beiber hairstyle is modeled after the Pi symbol.

'your congressman'

[Anonymous Coward]

'your congressman'.

Nothing happened!

An alternative interpretation

[swordgeek]

Screw that! This is what pi sounds like.

That's a lie.

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'm not saying it's as good as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber or something,"
It IS BETTER than them.

Alternate version

[Anonymous Coward]

Or you could listen to track 2 disk 1 of Kate Bush CD Aerial, where she sings the digits in Pi.

Yeah....

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'm not saying it's as good as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber or something"

Oh. So you mean it sucks?

this isn't quite what I expected...

[mr_bigmouth_502]

When I first saw the title of this article, I thought that it was going to be about someone calculating pi and piping the output to /dev/audio.

Kate Bush's Song is far better..

[mpathy]

Kate Bush did also a song about Pi, which is far better:
http://youtu.be/N-nIRHe-4HM

Sorry did not find a better version, and voice is a little muted, so look at the lyrics here:
http://www.absolutelyrics.com/lyrics/view/kate_bush/pi/

Have a good day :9

when...

[Anonymous Coward]

come back... bring pi...

wanker